Patrol torpedo boat PT-109
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For the 1963 film, see PT 109 (film). For the 2015 book by William Doyle, see PT 109: An American Epic of War, Survival, and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy.
PT-109 was an 80-foot Elco PT boat (patrol torpedo boat) last commanded by Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy, future United States president, in the Solomon Islands campaign of the Pacific theater during World War II. Kennedy's actions in saving his surviving crew after PT-109 was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer earned him several commendations and made him a war hero. Back problems stemming from the incident required months of hospitalization at Chelsea Naval Hospital and plagued him the rest of his life. Kennedy's postwar campaigns for elected office referred often to his service on PT-109.
Quick Facts History, United States ...
PT-109's sister-boat PT-105, circa 1942 | |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | PT-109 |
Ordered | 1942 |
Builder | Elco, Bayonne, New Jersey |
Laid down | 4 March 1942 |
Launched | 20 June 1942 |
Completed | 19 July 1942 |
Identification | Hull symbol: PT-109 |
Fate | Sunk by Japanese destroyer Amagiri, 2 August 1943 |
General characteristics | |
Displacement | 56 long tons (57 t) (full load) |
Length | 80 ft (24 m) overall |
Beam | 20 ft 8 in (6.30 m) |
Draft | 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) maximum (aft) |
Installed power | 4,500 horsepower (3,400 kW) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 41 knots (76 km/h; 47 mph) maximum (trials) |
Endurance | 12 hours, 6 hours at top speed |
Complement | 3 officers, 14 enlisted men (design) |
Armament |
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Armor | Deck house protected against rifle-caliber projectiles and splinters, some crews fitted armor plate to refrigerators |
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